How big is online sports betting industry?

Sports have been intertwined in the cultural fabric of people across the world. Gambling too has captured the minds and emotions of people for a long time. Thus, the inevitable combination of the two, in the form of sports betting, has undoubtedly blown up. Cue the entry of the internet and you have at your disposal a powerful tool that has become a major market as well as a major form of recreation for populations that demand newer forms of recreation. While sports itself and sports betting can fall under ethical grey areas, it is also important to understand the economics and markets before passing moral judgement on something. Meanwhile, you can try sports betting online with 10cric and start betting on your favourite sports and delve into the thrill of sports betting and fantasy world.

Online sports betting is one of the largest growing markets in the world, with a growth rate exceeding that of heavy industries like automobile or manufacturing, and falling short of only sectors like online retail. With  growth so robust, it is interesting to note where the industry stands today and explore future prospects in detail.

Estimated overall size:

While the overall value of the market is difficult to estimate, since not all countries regulate or keep records, a general idea from extrapolation of data puts the overall value of the market capitalisation of sports betting at 250 billion $. Out of this, licensed sports betting is estimated to be about 40 billion dollars according to Statista, a reputed data firm.

Growing markets:

While developed nations rarely feature among growing markets, the fastest online sports betting market is the US, with a value of 40 billion dollars in 2016, and growing at roughly 10 billion $ a year. At least 50% of the American population has admitted to betting on sports event online, at least once in their life.

The other large market is the Asia Pacific region, with almost half of the world’s betting population residing in this area. India itself has an online gambling market worth 5 billion $ and is growing rapidly as well.

Reasons for increased sports betting:

There are several reasons for increased online sports betting. The reasons can be subdivided into:

1. New entries into online sports betting:

As populations grow richer, there is increase income and smaller working hours. This lends more disposable income at the hands of people and more time to spend it in. Demands for recreation tend to increase with the result that people search for avenues to spend money in, for recreation. Since sports are inherently linked with people since childhood, and internet is convenient and accessible, all these factors come together to make online sports betting a top seller as far as online recreation is concerned.

2. Shift from offline to online sports betting platforms:

There are several reasons why a lot of seasoned offline punters are converting into online sports betting veterans. These include:

• Online sports betting is more convenient and does not need a physical presence in a casino.
• Online betting is safer and respects privacy.
• Bonuses, referrals, free bets, etc. are galore on online casinos.
• Payouts are quicker, more frequent and often higher.
• Online betting is automated and relatively error free.
• Betting websites are open 24/7
• There is a higher variety of sports to bet on, online
• There is no need to stand in queues and betting can be done when necessary.

Popular sports on which punters bet:

Football, without a speck of doubt, is the most popular sport in the world that amasses more than a billion people in fanfare, and has been culturally intertwined with several nations. Thus it comes as no surprise that most of the betting in the world revolves around football. American football also involves a lot of betting, since several people in the US gamble.

Basketball tends to be another sport people gamble on, especially in North America and Europe.

In specific nations where a particular sport may be popular, a large bulk of betting revolves around them. In India, hyper voluminous betting occurs over cricket, and leagues such as the Indian Premier League predominate. Kabaddi is another sport where Indians bet on.

It is interesting to note that world cups or world championships of football, cricket, basketball, etc. receive a bulk of online betting when they occur. The FIFA world cup, especially, is marked by spikes in the volume of online betting when it occurs every 4 years.

Future growth prospects:

Sports betting has a share of over 40% of betting revenue across the world, which makes it the largest individual component of gambling, exceeding the likes of lotteries, online betting games like poker or blackjack, etc.

If that isn’t appreciation enough, the market is likely to grow by 8.62% from 2018 to 2022. However, this growth isn’t uniform across the world. While the US and Asia Pacific sees aggressive growth Europe and Australia, which have had a long history of betting, are seeing a more steady growth. Meanwhile, places in Africa and South Asia, where the populations are still poor or don’t have enough access at all, sports betting hasn’t been a big enough recreational crowd puller.